By: Eric Egnet, CIO

Healthcare CIO’s are all facing the new reality of HITECH. They are now or they soon will be assessing what needs to happen in order to bring their current EHR’s and existing systems’ interoperability up to the “meaningful use” guidelines.

There is a sense of urgency because “meaningful use” is set to be made into policy by early next year. From a healthcare perspective, that means tomorrow. Hospitals and physician practices who demonstrate meaningful use will qualify for some of the billions of dollars in incentives coming from the government, but CIO’s cannot wait for the “black and white” definition of meaningful use. They must start now if they hope to achieve meaningful use.

The definition of meaningful use is going to break down into four main categories: CPOE, clinical documentation, quality reporting, and system interoperability. CIO’s must assess their current and planned system implementations determining the best approach and/or combination while factoring in security, privacy, and HIPAA compliance.

All this must be accomplished during trying economic times. Plus, once the fuse is lit, resourcing these projects nationally will become a big challenge. The best thing Healthcare CIO’s can do is to be as proactive as possible and get their strategies, plans and projects in place while getting their C-Level Peers on board.

This is, after all, not only an IT initiative, but a directive for the entire organization, where every C-Level must be involved and will be held accountable.

The budget and execution of the HITECH compliance initiatives will transcend the entire organization. The key to accomplishing set goals will be measures. The measure of quality, system interoperability, and patient outcomes will be the true test of compliance. This coupled with the necessary security, privacy, and HIPPA standards, makes compliance a complex initiative at all levels.

Are all your colleagues ready to face “meaningful use” and all that it entails? What are you doing to prepare?